Motor-vehicle-shipping device.



n. E. BAUS. MOTOR VEHICLE SHIPPING DEVICE APPLICATION FILED SEIL 4 I9I5- Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

2 I. Z f 1 fl y 41 5 1L0 2 INVENTUR WITNE55E5 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIc new a. mus, or nnrnorr, MICHIGAN, assumes TO ran s'ru'nzmm consonamxomn conrom'rrorr or NEW mnsnx.

HO'I'Ql-VEHICLE-SHIPPING DEVICE.

To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD E. Bans, acitizen of the United States of America, and resident of Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motor-Vehicle-Shipping Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in devices ada ted to be employed in connection with the shipping of motor vehicles as the same are transported in railroad cars.

Considerable difficulty has been encountered in devising means whereby an automobile ma. be securely held in position on the floor'o a tra orting car during transit. The vehicle with its accompanying engine is of great weight; hencev the move ment of the tran orting car is liable to cause the automobi e to be violentl thrown from side to side or forward and ackward asthe case may be, according to the various shocks and strains imposed thereon, resulting where the automobile is not properly secured in serious damage thereto.

The object of my present invention is to provide means whereby the forward axle of the automobile ma. be supported and firmly locked to the cor of the car in a way to resist the strains above referred to.

It will be understood that the forward axle;

bears the greatest weight due to the presence of the motor adjacent thereto. It is therefore desirable to fix this axle in a permanent position and at the same time to relieve the tires fromthe weight carried thereby and to lift the same clear of the floor of the car. This is not so important with reference to. the rear wheels, for the reason that the weight carried thereby is much less than the weight carried b the forward wheels, butit is important t at they should be secured permanently to the floor, and I provide means for this urpose.

I have illustra my invention in the accompanying drawings, referrin to the parts by numerals and designating like parts by like numerals.

Fi re 1 isa side elevation of an automobi e body and frame, the near wheels and intervening parts are eliminated inthis Specification ot'Letters Patent.

Application filed September 4, 1915. Serial No. 48,978.

' may be secured to such Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

, drawin and the far wheels andsections of the ax e adjacent said wheels are shown. My supporting device is also shown in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal elevation of my supporting device. Fig. 3 is a side elevation viewed perpendicular to the line Fig. 4 is a plan of the same. Fig. 5 1s a sectional detai taken on the lines 5-5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a sectional detail taken on the lines 66 of Fig. 6. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the means employed to secure the rear wheels to the floor of the car.

1 indicates generally an automobile bod and frame. 2-2 are the forward whee s and 3 the forward axle. 4 is the floor of a railroad car. The sup orting member employed by me as a whole is exhibited in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. It is preferably formed of sheet steel suitably ribbed togive strength to thestructure. It comprises in detail the following elements 5-5 are arms radiating,

lel with the floor of the car and provided with screw-holes as 8 by means of which it floor. Thus it will be seenv that the structure as described forms with the plane of the floor a triangular figure with a recess at its apex to receive the axle. 10 is a brace interposed between the arms 5-5 and secured thereto by the. screws 11. 12 is a brace interposed between the two supporting members. It is secured to the floor of the car by the screws 13 and pro vided with the hook members 14 which book over the recess member 7. 15 is a band adapted to confine the axle 3 within the re cess member 7. Its ends are extended as at. 16 and secured to the arms 55 by the screws '17. 18 is one of the rear wheels, the

other rear wheel not being shown. The

means employed by me for bindingithese wheels to the floor of the caris ex ibited in Fi 7 wherein 19 is a flexible band and 20 a p ate having the screws 21 by whichthe plate is secured to the floor with the band" interposed between the plate and; the floor.

The operation of this device is as follows! The supporting members are constructedof suflicient height to support the axle and lift bodying I a pan of coop the wheels clear of the floor. These members as exhibited in Fig. 2 are interposed between the forward axle and the floor, their mountingbe? perpendicular to the axis of the axle an intermediate the wheels and the frame. The ends 8 of the arms 5-5 are screwed to the floor of the car as through the screw-holes 9 and the band 15 overlies the axle lying within the recess 7, and is secured by the screws 1'1. The rear wheels are. then secured to the floor of the car by means of the flexible band 19, plate 20 and screws 21 The structure described operates to su port the forward axle of the car lifting t e wheels clear of the floor and its structure is such that it i s calculated to resist the strains incident to transportation. The triangular form of the support presents a positive resistance to ion 'tudina movement and the brace interpose between the sppporting members resists lateral strain. e anchori of the rear wheels also cooperates in resisting displacement.

What Iclaim is:

1. A motor yehicle shgiping device emr'atin standards,

each of which comprises means or enga ing a veh' le axle near one end thereof, and diverging legs on which the axle engaging means is mounted, said legs being secured to a supporting surface and of sulficient len h tomaintain the bee sof said axle free from engagement with said surface, in combination with a tie member, the opposite ends of which engage with the standards near their apexes', said tie member bein secured between its ends to the support ng surface whereby the standards are maintained in u standing, spaced positions and shifting un r lateral stress" precluded.

2QA motor vehicle shipping device embodying a pair of cofiperatii g standards, each of which embodies a socket adapted to detachably receive a vehicle axle, means for normally locking the axle in said socket, and diverging legs for the socket, which legs are secured to a supporting surface and are 0f pfiicient'lengthio support the axle with the corresponding wheels free from engagement with said surface, in combination with lateral braces secured to sai standards at their apexes and to the supporting surface fat m mte n g t. e an ar s up n n position and [mac uding movement thereof under lateral stresses.

A motor vehicle. shipping device em- .h ying a p i at rig d s iipeta ng a ards, each of which embodies a socket adaptt t he y r e e a v h e We means for normally locking ,the axle in said socket, and diverging legs for the socket, w wh ss a e secured t a suppe -t n" u in said socket, and diver bination with lateral braces detachably .en-

gaging with-said standards and secured to the supporting surface for precluding lateral movement of the standards, said braces .being maintained in enga ement with the standards by the means WlllCh lock the axles in the sockets.

4. A standard embodyingnpwardly converging legs an Pr i e t h formed between the upper ends of'the gs with a reentrant portion adapted to receive a vehicle axle, a lateral brace provided with a j w to det habl engage i ai re.- entrant portion, an uni ary means or simultaneously locking the axle and't e jaw of the brace within the reiiutrant portion 01 the standard. h 1 h d mot r Y i 5 TP iq embo yin .a pa of cqfip i st n rd each 0 which embodies'a socke ada ted to detachably receive the front axle 9, vehicle, means for normally locln'ng theaxle g f r t s e whi h e a e b m 1 T p o ting su ace an c f s ent en HPR H th x h t vr spen i whee s free from engagement with said surface, whereby the orward' part of the vehlcle is supported against on ftudinal or transverse movement, in combination with lateral braces secured to standards and to the supporting surface for recluding a ra oveme t of the an. ar s, a means for securing the rear wheels of the vehicle to the sup rting surface and in engagement therewit to preclude lateral shifti of a d wh els "6. A standard embodyin upwardly convergin legs and provide a the apex for'me beween the upper ends of the egs with a reentrant portion adapted to receive the front axle of a vehicle, said le being of suflicient length to supportthe axle with i Whee s .frce om ngagement with th supporting surface, a lateral brace provided with ya jaw' to detachably engage with said re n mn P rti n, and uni a y m an f simultaneously locking the axle and the jaw .of the brace within the rentrant portion of means engaging with the front axle of the ing a triangular brace in both vertical and vehicle for supporting the forward portion horizontal planes. l 10 of said vehicle with the front Wheels thereof Signed by me at Detroit, Michigan, this free from engagement with said supporting 31st day of August, 1915.

5 surface. RICHARD E. BAUS.

8. The combination with a freight car, of Witnesses: means for suspending an automobile therein, R. E. Smm'rrn,

comprising a triangular brace member form- R0! 0. GAlmm 

